How should the Galaxy line up against San Jose?

The Galaxy were able to grab all three points on the road against the Montreal Impact. We know the incident, we’re not here to dissect that in this article. What we are going to talk about, however, is formations. How should Sigi Schmid line his men up against the San Jose Earthquakes Friday with one striker?

Let’s discuss.

Possible Galaxy Formations

4-2-3-1

This is, of course, the Sigi classic. Jonathan Dos Santos will be playing in a more advanced position, linking the midfield with the forwards.

Adding Emmanuel Boateng back into the fray should provide more width. That is something that has been lacking in recent matches. One of the biggest areas of concern for Boateng is his ability to cross. When he does go out wide, what kind of pass will he attempt to play to Kamara? If Boateng floats a cross through box will it get cut out easily? Or he could play a low pass through the defense to set up an easy shot for Kamara.

4-3-3

The 4-3-3 is a slight tweak to Schmid’s preferred formation. Perry Kitchen would drop lower – like he usually does anyways – and be an anchor in front of the back four.

But by adding JDS and Sebastian Lletget to the midfield, there could be more attacking options. Lletget can swing a pass out wide to set Boateng and Romain Alessandrini free on the wings. Or Dos Santos can use his dribbling abilities to beat a couple of defenders. That would open space in the middle more as the match progresses, leaving the wide option open more.

5-4-1/3-4-3

The last offering is coloring outside the lines somewhat for Sigi Schmid. This formation can be either a 5-4-1 or a 3-4-3 depending on the situation. It depends on how high Ashley Cole/Emrah Klimenta would be playing.

While you may lose an attack minded player in this formation, there’s a heavy focus on defense. Three center backs provides more opportunity to stop danger before it starts. What that means, though, is that Schmid would have to play rookie Tomas Hilliard-Arce. In my opinion, however, the Stanford Cardinal has not gotten a good enough look yet.